Help! Prius swaying/wobbling issue

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Tideland Prius, Jan 31, 2008.

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  1. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Alright,

    no idea which tyre shop will have it (I assume CT doesn't?)
     
    #21 Tideland Prius, Feb 2, 2008
  2. jayman

    jayman Senior Member

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    CT have a machine like that?

    BWAAAA HAAAAA HAAAAA HAAAAA HAAAA! You're joking, right?

    The Hunter GSP 9700 is a very expensive machine. Specialty tire shops may have one, the chains almost certainly will not.

    When I had my FJ Cruiser Goodyear Fortera TripleTred's given the entire Road Force package, they charged me $280 plus taxes to do all 4. I think it was worth it, there was a definite before/after difference: no more shake, tracks with no effort, etc

    If you live in the US you can use the Hunter website to find a shop with the machine:

    Hunter GSP9700 Wheel Vibration Control System

    Otherwise you have to email Hunter Canada to find a shop, which is what I had to do last year

    Locate a Local Hunter Engineering Equipment Representative: Sales, Service, Regional Manager

    You could still try the ZIP of the tire dealer you got the tires from. Maybe they do have a Hunter. Not sure if it is worth your time to cross the border, drive down, and explain you are having a problem.

    Do you have a passport, birth certificate, NEXUS card, Canadian Citizenship photo card, etc, to expedite the border crossing?
     
    #22 jayman, Feb 2, 2008
  3. galaxee

    galaxee mostly benevolent

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    DH balanced our last set of new tires with a road force machine. impressive setup. car feels beautiful.
     
    #23 galaxee, Feb 2, 2008
  4. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Well I'm thinking what kind of shop here will have it.

    Fountain Tire is a goodyear store that or KalTire. Those two are tyre stores.
     
    #24 Tideland Prius, Feb 2, 2008
  5. jayman

    jayman Senior Member

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    I'm thinking you will have to email the contact for Hunter Canada and ask them which stores in the Lower Mainland are equipped with the Road Force machine

    None of the Kal Tire and only one Fountain Tire stores here carry it. A couple of Honda dealerships here have one, otherwise a specialty performance shop is the best bet
     
    #25 jayman, Feb 2, 2008
  6. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    oh great lol.

    ok thanks.
     
    #26 Tideland Prius, Feb 3, 2008
  7. jayman

    jayman Senior Member

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    When I emailed Hunter Canada, I had a reply the next business day. It was well worth getting the Road Force Balance done on all 4 tires

    Apparently they had to dismount all 4 tires. Tires and rims were then "matched" and the final balance was done. Apparently this is how OEM tires and wheels are mated

    I was pretty disappointed with my Goodyear Fortera TripleTred's when I first got them. The shake at highway speed - felt in steering wheel and in my butt - wasn't a good sign, and the FJ felt "loose" at highway speed

    After the Road Force, the FJ became VERY smooth at highway speed, and it will easily track with one finger on the wheel. The Fortera TripleTred is a *very* safe highway truck tire.

    Around here, the roads are poorly built and poorly maintained. It's common to find highways with rutted lanes where the vehicle tires pass over. So even a light rain and you have up to an inch or two of standing water.

    My FJ came with truly awful Dunlop GrandTrek tires. They would very easily hydroplane, and even a hint of slush or snow and they're helpless

    When I got the Toyo Open Country winter tires, it was no question. I had them immediately Road Force balanced. Very smooth, but the soft squishy tread blocks and sidewalls mean it does wander at highway speeds
     
    #27 jayman, Feb 3, 2008
  8. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Alright, hunter Canada - Road Force Balance.


    On another note, a full lock turn creates some grinding noise. Hopefully it's not related to the wobbling issue.

    I know it's not the EPS noise because I've heard it before and that sound is so soft, you can only hear it with the radio off. This one was with the radio on. At first I thought maybe it was the slush or ice or something but it has happened on different roads.


    I'll try it out a few more times to make sure.

    Or maybe it can be related?? (say a loose bolt or something that is exacerbated by the full lock).

    Ugh.
     
    #28 Tideland Prius, Feb 5, 2008
  9. patsparks

    patsparks An Aussie perspective

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    Haven't you got that fixed yet?
     
    #29 patsparks, Feb 6, 2008
  10. jayman

    jayman Senior Member

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    So the plot thickens. Did full lock make that noise before?

    I'm leaving this afternoon for a two week business trip, I'm wondering how this will turn out
     
    #30 jayman, Feb 6, 2008
  11. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    No Pat. It's the middle of winter and it's mighty cold outside. Not cold as in 16°C :p but cold as in near 0°C. It's hard to imagine when it's summer ;) heh.


    Jayman: yes :mad:. Will do a few more full lock turns both left and right before I jump to any conclusions.
     
    #31 Tideland Prius, Feb 6, 2008
  12. Priusaurus110

    Priusaurus110 Junior Member

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    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Priusaurus110 [​IMG]
    Tideland: I have had this before on one of my other cars. Turned out to be one of the brand new tires I bought was out of round...i.e. a defective tire.

    Hmmm.... so how do look for that? I mean I can see if there's a bulge or something but... if it's slightly out of shape, I can't really see that with the naked eye, can I?

    *******************************
    Tideland: sorry for the delayed response to your Jan 31 question. Been out of town. It looks like you are already well on your way to a solution but just to answer your question: In my case, I could not see the bulge but diagnosed the problem by rotating the tires. The loction and intensity of the vibration moved with the tire. After taking it back to the shop they were able to pinpoint the defect and replaced the tire.
    Good luck!
     
    #32 Priusaurus110, Feb 6, 2008
  13. tkil

    tkil New Member

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    A late reply, but here's one more vote for a manufacturing defect.

    I had new tires put on my 1995 Subaru Legacy L Sedan, and driving away from the dealership showed pulling and wobbling. Turns out they had put an undersized tire (!) on one wheel, and it was out of round to boot. A quick trip back, and they fixed it.

    I don't doubt that the fancy "road force balance" is the deluxe option, but even the basic machinery (and/or taking a tire tech for a low-speed ride in the back seat) should find the offending wheel.

    Good luck!
     
    #33 tkil, Feb 7, 2008
  14. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    no worries.

    A few more things I've discovered.

    The wobble seems more prominent with either

    a) more people on board
    b) the backseat.

    I can't confirm which one it is because if I'm in the backseat, then there's 3 or 4 people in the car.


    Again, it goes away (or at least I don't notice it) at higher speeds (say above 20km/h) so if it was out-of-round, wouldn't the problem be exacerbated at higher speeds?
     
    #34 Tideland Prius, Feb 7, 2008
  15. Flying White Dutchman

    Flying White Dutchman Senior Member

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    take off one wheel ar a time and roll it over the strees ( if you life in a not to busy street ) and look of the weel is round or not!
     
    #35 Flying White Dutchman, Feb 8, 2008
  16. Priusaurus110

    Priusaurus110 Junior Member

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    Tideland: No. At high speeds the frequency of the vibration becomes so high that the problem is less noticable than at lower speeds.
     
    #36 Priusaurus110, Feb 8, 2008
  17. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    I think I know what you mean... back to Physics 101... or 102 in my case.
     
    #37 Tideland Prius, Feb 8, 2008
  18. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Update:

    ok I really gotta get my *** off and get things done. Been busy with work and such.

    Anyway, a few things:

    1. The steering wheel noise has gone. I did both a full left and full right lock a few times 2 days ago and couldn't reproduce that grinding noise. Oh well. One done another to go

    2. The wobble has subsided with one person on board. It's less noticeable. But with 4 people on board, it's still there.
     
    #38 Tideland Prius, Mar 3, 2008
  19. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Alright, I finally hauled my lazy butt and got the car checked out at the Tire Factory.

    You guys were right. The rear right tyre was out of round. It'll be replaced on Thurs (they had no stock today).

    Thanks again everyone! Another mystery solved!
     
    #39 Tideland Prius, Mar 25, 2008
  20. jayman

    jayman Senior Member

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    Now imagine if every tire shop - or at least the bigger ones - had a Road Force tire balancer. That tire would never have been put on your car, it would have been tossed in the dumpster

    So how long did you put up with this crap??
     
    #40 jayman, Mar 25, 2008
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